Over 1,350 students currently attend Northwood, adding an additional 85 students to the school since last year. The growing population contributes to the morning traffic buildup along the intersection of U.S. Highway 15-501 and Northwood High School Road. On a weekday morning, it is common to see lines of cars stretching from all directions at the intersection.
“I’ve been here going on 10 years, and this has been the worst I’ve ever seen it as far as traffic and the numbers,” School Resource Officer Herbie Stubbs said.
Senior Anne Barone drives herself to school and dislikes the morning traffic.
“I hate it,” Barone said. “I live like half an hour away, so I have to leave even earlier to get to school. If I don’t leave at 7 a.m., I’m going to be late.”
Senior Jenny Li, a morning bus rider, has an hour-long bus ride to get to school.
“Last year, I got on the bus at 6:33 a.m.,” Li said. “But this year, because there are more students coming to the school, there is more traffic. I have to get out [to the bus stop] 15 minutes earlier just to get [to school] on time.”
Assistant principal Phillip Little agrees that the addition of new students every school year affects the traffic outside school.
“The problem is that every year, the school is gaining more students who don’t drive,” Little said. “That makes more stress on traffic.”
After the first week of school, the traffic coming into Northwood begins to shrink. Though the traffic build up slowly diminishes through the school year, principal Justin Bartholomew says it is always an issue.
“I don’t think [the traffic] solves itself,” Bartholomew said. “It alleviates itself, but it needs a major overhaul to solve that whole piece.”
The large number of buses and cars poses a hazard to all drivers and pedestrians along the intersection.
“We’ve had a few accidents this year,” Stubbs said. “Nothing serious, but people do get impatient. We’ve had three or four rear-enders, where people hit other people because you have that stopping and going and stopping and going motion. If somebody stops and the person behind them is looking at their cell phone or looks in the mirror, then bam—it’s too late. You’ve hit somebody.”
Though the traffic around Northwood High School Road continues to grow, Chatham County Schools says it has no power to fix or control it.
“Chatham County Schools has nothing to do with the traffic,” Stubbs said. “It’s the state of North Carolina.”
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (N.C.D.O.T.) monitors the intersection between Northwood High School Road and Highway 15-501. Stubbs says the school is too far off the highway to make it a school zone, allowing drivers to go 55 mph in front of the school road.
“There are petitions the town of Pittsboro is trying to do to get them to [install a school zone area] and get people to slow down,” Stubbs said. “Some people go through the intersection running 55 to 65 miles per hour in front of Northwood when school is starting and ending. Right now it’s D.O.T.”
N.C.D.O.T.’s Media Communications Officer Ginny Inman says there are new implements being added this school year to accommodate for the highway speed limit and traffic.
“What’s new [this school year] is that there will be school zone signs for the morning and afternoon periods,” Inman said. “But it will not be for the lunch hour. It will only be for when school is opening and closing.”
Along with the school zone signs, Chatham County Schools and the N.C.D.O.T. have made plans to potentially add a second entrance into Northwood. When asked if the school could help with traffic problems, Bartholomew said all options have been exhausted.
“They all know something needs to be done,” Bartholomew said. “They’re just waiting for someone to do something.”
Though the traffic solutions will take time, Stubbs suggested a method to fix the school traffic.
“If you can ride the school bus, ride it,” Stubbs said. “But if not, I think the big problem is that everybody is trying to get somewhere at the last minute. Get up and leave the house sooner. If you get here at 7:15 or 7:20, you’re not going to be stuck in line. But if you wait till 7:30 or after, you’re going to be stuck. You try to hurry up, but then you’re going to wait. Just getting up earlier and getting to school would be a big help.”
– By Elizabeth Her